Handle with Care puts the audience in control

The stage is yours: Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed provides the instructions and suggestions, then it's up to the audience to do the show... Pic: Ans Brys

A box has been posted to the theatre and stands now in the middle of the stage. The instructions that came with the box are clear: invite a group of people, on a specific night, at a specific time; let them take their seats, then ask one of them to open the box...

Handle With Care - at Leeds Playhouse from March 27-28, is a theatrical experience from Belgian collective Ontroerend Goed, which has been pushing the boundaries of theatre for nearly 25 years.

When the company premiered this new production last October, it opened simultaneously in eight locations across six countries, including Salford, Glasgow, Melbourne and Gothenburg. This time Leeds Playhouse is one of eight UK venues for this "show in a box", alongside multiple venues in 13 other countries. In all, Handle With Care is being performed over 220 times in nine languages across 14 different countries, from Australia to the United States and China to Sweden.

Ontroerend Goed doesn't actually perform, for the show is entirely in the hands of audience members as storytellers, actors and directors. The theatres genuinely receive the box by post and place it on stage, then leave it to the audience to discover and create the story together with the help of prompt cards, questions, instructions and objects.

Those who prefer to stay seated don't have to actively participate if they don’t want to: Ontroerend Goed prides itself on making participatory theatre for people who don't like participatory theatre...

The company's artistic director, Alexander Devriendt, explained: "We entrust the entire performance to the spectators. We provide the structure, you shape the experience. Choose your role, whether it's the leda, or observing as others make choices that steer the performance in unexpected directions. Together, you create something special: a shared experience filled with reflections on time, transience and togetherness. There are no wrong choices in Handle with Care; for an hour, you will live something unique, fleeting and unrepeatable. What is yours, stays yours. Take good care of it. And send us a postcard."

More info and tickets here